Cardinals Six Run Inning Cuts Reds' Lead to Six Games

It looked like the Reds would walk away from the Cardinals and increase it's lead to eight games.  St. Louis had other ideas in a comeback 8-5 win in the first game of the weekend series.

The Reds eliminated Lance Lynn after two innings.  Zack Cozart opened with a double. Drew Stubbs walked.  Brandon Phillips singled to give the Reds a quick 1-0 lead with Stubbs going to third.

Ryan Ludwick hit into a double play but Stubbs scored.  It was a fast start for the home team.

The Cardinals got a run back in the second inning with the run scoring on the 100th double play that they have hit into.

The Reds parlayed a walk to Todd Frazier and single by Scott Rolen into a run when Ryan Hanigan hit a sacrifice fly.  Latos singled to extend his hitting streak to five games but Cozart forced him and Stubbs lined hard to center for the

The Reds knocked Lynn out in the third before he could get an out Phillips singled again.  Ludwick singled.  One out later Frazier drove in a run with a single.  The Reds loaded the bases on reliever Joe Kelly's error but he recovered to strike out Hanigan and Reds' starter Mat Latos.

The Reds added another run off Kelly on singles by Bruce and Frazier followed by Rolen's double into the rightfield corner.  Hanigan was walked intentionally.  Latos went too far on a 3-2 pitch. Cozart lined to deep center.

Then the wheels fell off the wagon.

Carlos Beltran reached on a single when Frazier fielded a ball behind first but Latos was late covering the bag. Matt Holiday, who was robbed by Bruce in the first inning of a double, singled.  Allen Craig hit a long fly ball down the leftfield line that hooked foul.  He made sure that his next blast stayed fair by hitting onto the green in front of the centerfield batter's eye.  The much booed Yadier Molina followed with his third hit a GABP home run to the first row of the rightfield bleachers, just beyond Bruce's reach.

"I went from having good fastball command to not," Latos said.  "It is no excuse but I literally got caught up on the mound with my spikes.  It is what it is a guy with 28 home runs was diving head first into first base."

Dusty Baker noted the Reds concentration wasn't there tonight after an extra-inning loss in Philadelphia last night and a 4 a.m. arrival in Cincinnati this morning.

"Our concentration wasn't there," Baker said.  "You could tell by how many pitches we swung at in the dirt.  We had the bases loaded a couple of times and could have blown the game open early.  Latos swung at ball four with the bases loaded.  Who knows what could have happened after that.  Cozart hit a fly to center that would have been another run."

Latos not getting over was the break the Cardinals needed according to Baker.

"That put Mat in the stretch right away and opened the flood gates.  You can't give them extra opportunities."

The Cardinals piled on from there.  David Freese walked, finishing Latos' night.  Skip Schumaker singled off  Alfredo Simon scoring Freese.  Rafael Furcal singled moving Schumaker to third.  Pinch hitter Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly to center.

The bullpens went into shutdown mode.  Simon finished three innings and in spite of three wild pitches cut off the scoring for St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Fernando Silas, Edward Mujica and Mitchell Boggs retired nine of 10 batters with the only baserunner allowed reaching on an error by Freese on Cozart's ground ball.

Jason Motte pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 30th save.

 The Reds did bring the tying run to the plate when Ludwick and Frazier singled.  Frazier's third hit improved his batting average to .298.  Motte struck out Rolen to seal it.